


Falling Stars

by th3blackcat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: LanceWeek2016, allura and keith comfort him, day 2: home/family, lance is homesick, my son wants to go home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 04:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9107539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/th3blackcat/pseuds/th3blackcat
Summary: Lance finally breaks after being stuck in space for so long without any contact with his family. Allura and Keith try to help their friend feel better.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for Lance week this year!

It was a long night for Lance. He couldn't sleep, so he wandered around the castle and ultimately found a new observation deck that was secluded and well hidden. He sat down near the window overlooking nothing in particular, and stared out at the stars.

These same stars were what he would look at and fall asleep to as a child. He was in love with these stars, but being in space had made him grow to hate them. The stars he loved had been crashing around him, one by one, confining him in a prison that kept him far from home. He wanted nothing more than to defeat Zarkon so he could go home, but in this very moment, Lance didn't care about Zarkon or Voltron or even defending the universe.

He wanted to go home. This feeling was clawing at him, a physical pain erupted as he brought his knees closer to him.

It wasn't this bad at the Garrison – while he was there, he was still able to get letters and packages from home. He was able to go back on holidays and be with everyone again.

Out here, all he could do was wait...

In this moment, all he wanted to do was tell his mom that he needed her. As much as he would refute it back on Earth, he would do anything to be with her in this very moment. He needed her hugs and her words of encouragement. He needed her to look him in the eyes and tell him that everything would be okay and he would go back home one day. As the silent tears slid down his face, he wished he could go back to before all this happened. He wanted to tell his younger self not to go out that night with Hunk when they found Shiro. He was happy being a fighter pilot, happy being a joke, happy with being yelled at, because at the end of the day, he was able to go home. He didn't fear for his life then.

Lance placed his forehead on his knees as his silent tears turned into uncontrollable sobs. What he would give up to feel better. Anything to be able to get rid of this pain that took over his body. He was tired of moving from one galaxy to the next. He was tired of constantly fighting. He was tired of being on call 24/7. He felt like he was losing his mind. There wasn't much to do on the ship that he did back home to relax and it was making him anxious. He tried talking about it with Hunk one day, but that didn't go well. Hunk just shrugged him off, acting as if being homesick was all he did. He tried Shiro next, who didn't pick up the hints he was dropping about needing some time to himself. He never talked to Keith because he doubted Keith would understand his feelings. He didn't need any ridiculing. He didn't even bother going to Pidge, the kid would probably explode on him for wanting to see his family in their current situation.

Lance learned how to fake his smile. He perfected the art of acting like everything was okay. His mask was flawless. But at the end of the day, he couldn't lie to himself. He hiccupped as he tried to catch his breath.

Allura was walking around the castle because she could hear something as she was trying to sleep. When she found Lance hugging his legs for dear life and not able to breathe properly as he sobbed, her heart broke. She never would have thought that the first person she saw, with one of the brightest smiles she had seen, would ever succumb to the sight before her. She got down on her knees and brought him into a hug wordlessly. Lance released the death grip on his legs and wrapped his arms around her torso. He grabbed the back of her night gown as he cried into her stomach. She petted the back of his head as she whispered soothing words to calm him down.

When he finally sobered a bit, he began to speak. "When I was a kid, I would look up at the stars from the beach.” He took a deep breath before he began again. “I told myself that one day, I'll be up there, floating in space with the stars and no one will be able to get me to go back home." Allura was now sitting next to him with her legs tucked under her. His head was on her shoulder and she was rubbing his back as they faced the stars outside. "But now, I would give anything to go back. Back home, or even to when I was a kid. I would tell myself that I need to cherish being with family. I need to enjoy my life there because space isn't as fun as it seems. The stars look beautiful and alluring from earth, but space is a daunting place. It would be so easy for me to die out here and they wouldn't even-"

Allura covered Lance’s mouth. "Words like that shall never be spoken in my presence. I know it is hard, and I know all the sacrifices each Paladin has had to make, and Lance, know that you will go home. I can bet my life that you will. And I would be more than happy to take you there myself." She smiled softly, but Lance didn't believe her.

"I'm scared," replied quietly. His sobs were reduced to hiccups and quiet tears.

"Are all of us not?"

Lance closed his eyes. "I'm scared I won't be able to tell them I love them one last time. Or give them a final hug."

"Lance." Allura's voice was firm and her hand stopped moving. Lance had never heard this tone from her before. "You will never say that again. I may not have been able to do those things with my father, but I will not allow that to happen to any of you. When you go home, it _will_ be final. You will not have to worry about saying a final goodbye to them. I swear it."

Lance pulled away from Allura. He looked at her with a tear-stained face. Although she sounded upset, she wore a smile that faltered and he knew he accidentally hit her where she was weak.

"Whas goin on in heer?" Keith yawned. The two turned around to find a sleepy Keith rubbing his eyes. Lance quickly turned around, not needing to be mocked for his appearance.

Allura looked between the two boys. She knew she was no longer needed and stood up. As she walked out, Allura placed a hand on Keith shoulder before silently walking away. Keith sat down in the spot which Allura was previously occupying. Lance turned away from Keith, not being able to look at him.

"You wanna go home, huh?" Keith broke the silence.

Lance didn't reply, but he was surprised that Keith knew.

He looked at Lance from the corner of his eye. Draping an arm around the blue paladin, Keith pulled him to his chest. "It'll be okay, you know that right?" he asked quietly. He rested his cheek on Lance’s head.

Lance’s eyes widened, not only but the gesture but also the words.

"I knew something was up with you for a while, and then I overheard you talking to Shiro. I was waiting for you to talk to me but figured you wouldn't since I never had my own family. But Lance, I never expected it to be this bad."

Lance pushed himself away. "You don't know anything. You've never had a family. I bet you're doing this just to make fun of me later." He knew his words were hurtful, but Lance wasn’t looking for a pity party. If Keith was here just to mock him, Lance didn’t need to hear it.

Keith cupped his cheek and brought Lance’s face up to make eye contact. "I mean it when I say that one day you'll be able to look at the stars and feel that same love that you felt for them as a kid." He wiped a tear that escaped the shocked boy’s eye with his thumb. Keith gave him a smile – a smile Lance had never seen before. It was warm and radiant, and it shone almost as bright as the stars Lance looked at when he was younger. It reminded him of his mom’s smile, the same one she gave him the last time he saw her. Keith stood up and walked back out of the observation deck.

"If you don't want to come to training tomorrow, I'll cover for you, but try to get some rest. Please." With that, Keith left Lance to be by himself once again. He looked out at the stars and stood up. Lance smiled softly to himself thinking _maybe the stars aren’t falling after all_.


End file.
